Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Notices 80781 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Notice of Filing infra note 4, at 88 FR 59976. 

4Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98215 

(Aug. 24, 2023), 88 FR 59976 (Aug. 30, 2023) (File 

No. SR–OCC–2023–007) (‘‘Notice of Filing’’). OCC 

also filed a related advance notice (SR–OCC–2023– 

801) (‘‘Advance Notice’’) with the Commission 

pursuant to Section 806(e)(1) of Title VIII of the 

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act, entitled the Payment, Clearing, and 

Settlement Supervision Act of 2010 and Rule 19b– 

4(n)(1)(i) under the Exchange Act. 12 U.S.C. 

5465(e)(1). 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) and 17 CFR 240.19b– 

4, respectively. The Advance Notice was published 

in the Federal Register on August 30, 2023. 

Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98214 (Aug. 

24, 2023), 88 FR 59988 (Aug. 30, 2023) (File No. 

SR–OCC–2023–801). 

5 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

6Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98508 (Sep. 

25, 2023), 88 FR 67407 (Sep. 29, 2023) (File No. SR– 

OCC–2023–007). 

7Partial Amendment No. 1 delays 

implementation of the proposed change. As 

amended, OCC would implement the proposed rule 

change within 90 days of receiving all necessary 

regulatory approvals and would announce the 

specific date of implementation on its public 

website at least 14 days prior to implementation. 

The delay is proposed in light of the technical 

system changes that are required to implement the 

liquidity stress testing enhancements and to be able 

to provide sufficient notice to Clearing Members 

following receipt of approval. 

8 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 

schedule for Commission meetings is 

subject to change on short notice. The 

NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can 

be found on the internet at: https://

www.nrc.gov/public-involve/publicmeetings/schedule.html. 

PLACE: The NRC provides reasonable 

accommodation to individuals with 

disabilities where appropriate. If you 

need a reasonable accommodation to 

participate in these public meetings or 

need this meeting notice or the 

transcript or other information from the 

public meetings in another format (e.g., 

braille, large print), please notify Anne 

Silk, NRC Disability Program Specialist, 

at 301–287–0745, by videophone at 

240–428–3217, or by email at 

Anne.Silk@nrc.gov. Determinations on 

requests for reasonable accommodation 

will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

STATUS: Public. 

Members of the public may request to 

receive the information in these notices 

electronically. If you would like to be 

added to the distribution, please contact 

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC 

20555, at 301–415–1969, or by email at 

Betty.Thweatt@nrc.gov. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Week of November 20, 2023 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of November 20, 2023. 

Week of November 27, 2023—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of November 27, 2023. 

Week of December 4, 2023—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of December 4, 2023. 

Week of December 11, 2023—Tentative 

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 

10:00 a.m. Discussion of the 

Administration’s Short- and Longterm Domestic, Uranium Fuel 

Strategy (Public Meeting), (Contact: 

Haile Lindsay: 301–415–0616) 

Additional Information: The meeting 

will be held in the Commissioners’ 

Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, Maryland. The public is 

invited to attend the Commission’s 

meeting in person or watch live via 

webcast at the web address—https://

video.nrc.gov/. 

Thursday, December 14, 2023 

10:00 a.m. Briefing on Equal 

Employment Opportunity, 

Affirmative Employment, and Small 

Business (Public Meeting), (Contact: 

Erin Deeds: 301–415–2887) 

Additional Information: The meeting 

will be held in the Commissioners’ 

Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, Maryland. The public is 

invited to attend the Commission’s 

meeting in person or watch live via 

webcast at the web address—https://

video.nrc.gov/. 

Week of December 18, 2023—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of December 18, 2023. 

Week of December 25, 2023—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of December 25, 2023. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

For more information or to verify the 

status of meetings, contact Wesley Held 

at 301–287–3591 or via email at 

Wesley.Held@nrc.gov. 

The NRC is holding the meetings 

under the authority of the Government 

in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b. 

Dated: November 15, 2023. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Wesley W. Held, 

Policy Coordinator, Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25653 Filed 11–16–23; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98932; File No. SR–OCC– 

2023–007] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Options Clearing Corporation; Notice 

of Filing of Partial Amendment No. 1 

and Order Instituting Proceedings To 

Determine Whether To Approve or 

Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change, 

as Modified by Partial Amendment No. 

1, Concerning Modifications to the 

Amended and Restated Stock Options 

and Futures Settlement Agreement 

Between The Options Clearing 

Corporation and the National 

Securities Clearing Corporation 

November 14, 2023. 

I. Introduction 

On August 10, 2023, the Options 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change SR–OCC–2023– 

007 (‘‘Proposed Rule Change’’) pursuant 

to Section 19(b) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange 

Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 2 thereunder to 

modify the Amended and Restated 

Stock Options and Futures Settlement 

Agreement dated August 5, 2017, 

between OCC and National Securities 

Clearing Corporation, OCC’s rules 

related to liquidity risk management, 

and OCC’s rules related to default 

management in connection with the 

proposed modifications to the Existing 

Accord.3 The Proposed Rule Change 

was published for public comment in 

the Federal Register on August 30, 

2023.4 The Commission has received no 

comments regarding the Proposed Rule 

Change. 

On September 25, 2023, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act,5

the Commission designated a longer 

period within which to approve, 

disapprove, or institute proceedings to 

determine whether to approve or 

disapprove the Proposed Rule Change.6

On November 8, 2023, OCC filed a 

Partial Amendment No. 1 to the 

Proposed Rule Change.7 The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on Partial Amendment 

No. 1 from interested persons and is 

instituting proceedings, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange 

Act,8 to determine whether to approve 

or disapprove the proposed rule change, 

as modified by the Partial Amendment 

No. 1 (hereinafter defined as ‘‘Proposed 

Rule Change’’). 

II. Summary of the Proposed Rule 

Change 

NSCC is a clearing agency that 

provides clearing, settlement, risk 

management, and central counterparty 

services for trades involving equity 

securities. OCC is the sole clearing 

agency for standardized equity options 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
80782 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Notices 

9The term ‘‘physically-settled’’ as used 

throughout the OCC Rulebook refers to cleared 

contracts that settle into their underlying interest 

(i.e., options or futures contracts that are not cashsettled). When a contract settles into its underlying 

interest, shares of stock are sent (i.e., delivered) to 

contract holders who have the right to receive the 

shares from contract holders who are obligated to 

deliver the shares at the time of exercise/assignment 

in the case of an option and maturity in the case 

of a future. 

10See Notice of Filing, 88 FR at 59977. 

11See id. 

12See id. 

13The Required Fund Deposit is calculated 

pursuant to Rule 4 (Clearing Fund) and Procedure 

XV (Clearing Fund Formula and Other Matters) of 

the NSCC Rules. See Notice of Filing, 88 FR at 

59979, n.27. 

14Under the NSCC Rules, NSCC collects 

additional cash deposits from those Members who 

would generate the largest settlement debits in 

stressed market conditions, referred to as 

‘‘Supplemental Liquidity Deposits’’ or ‘‘SLD.’’ See 

Rule 4A of the NSCC Rules. See also Notice of 

Filing, 88 FR at 59979, n.28. 

15See Notice of Filing, 88 FR at 59979–80. OCC 

and NSCC have agreed that performing the 

necessary technology build at this time would delay 

the implementation of this proposal. Therefore, 

NSCC would consider incorporating those 

technology updates into future revisions to the 

Accord, for example in connection with a move to 

a shorter settlement cycle in the U.S. equities 

markets. See Notice of Filing, 88 FR at 59980, n.31. 

16Because not all types of expirations are the 

same with respect to the notional amount of activity 

sent by OCC to NSCC, OCC proposes to use five 

separate categories of expirations with potentially 

different GSP amounts to apply. See Notice of 

Filing, 88 FR at 59986 (defining the following five 

categories: standard monthly expiration, end of 

week expirations, end of month expiration, bank 

holiday expirations, and daily expirations). 

17 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 

18 Id. 

19 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 

20 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

21 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(1). 

22 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(7). 

listed on national securities exchanges 

registered with the Commission, 

including options that contemplate the 

physical delivery of equities cleared by 

NSCC in exchange for cash (‘‘physically 

settled’’ options).9 OCC also clears 

certain futures contracts that, at 

maturity, require the delivery of equity 

securities cleared by NSCC in exchange 

for cash. As a result, the exercise and 

assignment of certain options or 

maturation of certain futures cleared by 

OCC effectively results in stock 

settlement obligations to be cleared by 

NSCC (‘‘E&A Activity’’). NSCC and OCC 

maintain a legal agreement, generally 

referred to by the parties as the 

‘‘Accord’’ agreement, that governs the 

processing of such E&A Activity for 

firms that are members of both OCC and 

NSCC (‘‘Common Members’’). 

Under certain circumstances, the 

Accord currently allows NSCC not to 

guaranty the settlement of securities 

arising out of E&A Activity for a 

defaulted Common Member. To the 

extent NSCC chooses not to guaranty 

such transactions, OCC would have to 

engage in an alternate method of 

settlement outside of NSCC to manage 

the default of the Common Member, 

which presents two issues. First, based 

on historical data, the cash required for 

such alternative settlement could be as 

much as $300 billion.10 Second, 

settlement outside of NSCC introduces 

significant operational complexities.11

OCC proposes to revise the Accord to 

address the liquidity and operational 

issues that arise under the current 

Accord. Specifically, the proposed 

changes to the Accord would require 

NSCC to guaranty the positions of a 

defaulting Common Member if OCC 

makes a payment to cover the 

incremental risk posed by such 

positions (the ‘‘Guaranty Substitution 

Payment’’ or ‘‘GSP’’). Based on 

historical data, the GSP could be as 

much as $6 billion (in contrast with the 

potential $300 billion required for 

alternative settlement).12

The total amount owed by the 

Common Member would be a 

combination of the member’s unpaid 

deposit to the NSCC Clearing Fund 

(‘‘Required Fund Deposit’’) 13 and 

Supplemental Liquidity Deposit.14 The 

SLD portion of the GSP would be the 

unpaid SLD associated with any E&A 

Activity. The Required Fund Deposit 

portion of the GSP, however, would be 

estimated by reference to the day-overday change in gross market value of the 

Common Member’s positions at NSCC 

as a proxy for estimating what 

percentage of the member’s Required 

Fund Deposit is attributable to E&A 

Activity. OCC acknowledges that this 

methodology overestimates or 

underestimates the Required Fund 

Deposit attributable to a Common 

Member’s E&A activity, but states that 

current technology constraints prohibit 

NSCC from performing a precise 

calculation of the GSP on a daily basis 

for every Common Member.15

In addition to revising the Accord, 

OCC also proposes changes to its rules 

in connection with the proposed 

changes to the Accord. For example, 

OCC proposes to change its rules to 

permit payment of the GSP to NSCC. 

OCC further proposes to revise its rules 

related to liquidity risk management to 

account for the potential need to make 

such a payment to NSCC. OCC proposes 

to incorporate the GSP into its stress 

testing framework as a liquidity demand 

and would estimate the potential 

demand based on the peak GSP 

observed over a one-year lookback.16

Such stress testing would be based on 

the total GSP, rather than the portion 

estimated to arise out of E&A activity. 

III. Proceedings To Determine Whether 

To Approve or Disapprove the 

Proposed Rule Change and Grounds for 

Disapproval Under Consideration 

The Commission is instituting 

proceedings pursuant to Section 

19(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act to 

determine whether the Proposed Rule 

Change should be approved or 

disapproved.17 Institution of 

proceedings is appropriate at this time 

in view of the legal and policy issues 

raised by the Proposed Rule Change. 

Institution of proceedings does not 

indicate that the Commission has 

reached any conclusions with respect to 

any of the issues involved. Rather, the 

Commission seeks and encourages 

interested persons to comment on the 

Proposed Rule Change, which would 

provide the Commission with 

arguments to support the Commission’s 

analysis as to whether to approve or 

disapprove the Proposed Rule Change. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the 

Exchange Act,18 the Commission is 

providing notice of the grounds for 

disapproval under consideration. The 

Commission is instituting proceedings 

to allow for additional analysis of, and 

input from commenters with respect to, 

the Proposed Rule Change’s consistency 

with Section 17A of the Exchange Act 19

and the rules thereunder, including the 

following provisions: 

• Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the 

Exchange Act,20 which requires, among 

other things, that the rules of a clearing 

agency are designed to promote the 

prompt and accurate clearance and 

settlement of securities transactions and 

derivative agreements, contracts, and 

transactions; to assure the safeguarding 

of securities and funds which are in the 

custody or control of the clearing agency 

or for which it is responsible; to foster 

cooperation and coordination with 

persons engaged in the clearance and 

settlement of securities transactions; 

and, in general, to protect investors and 

the public interest; 

• Rule 17Ad–22(e)(1) under the 

Exchange Act,21 which requires that a 

covered clearing agency establish, 

implement, maintain, and enforce 

written policies and procedures 

reasonably designed to provide for a 

well-founded, clear, transparent, and 

enforceable legal basis for each aspect of 

its activities in all relevant jurisdictions; 

• Rule 17Ad–22(e)(7) under the 

Exchange Act,22 which requires, in part, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Notices 80783 

23 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(17)(i). 

24 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

25 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(1), 17 CFR 240.17Ad– 

22(e)(7), and 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(20). 

26 17 CFR 240.19b–4(g). 

27Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act grants to 

the Commission flexibility to determine what type 

of proceeding—either oral or notice and 

opportunity for written comments—is appropriate 

for consideration of a particular proposal by a selfregulatory organization. See Securities Act 

Amendments of 1975, Senate Comm. on Banking, 

Housing & Urban Affairs, S. Rep. No. 75, 94th 

Cong., 1st Sess. 30 (1975). 

28See OCC Notice of Filing, supra note 4. 

29 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(31). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98231 

(August 28, 2023), 88 FR 60516 (‘‘Notice’’). 

4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98497 

(September 25, 2023), 88 FR 67397 (September 29, 

2023) (designating November 30, 2023, as the date 

by which the Commission will either approve or 

disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine 

whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change). 

The Commission has received no comments on the 

proposed rule change. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 

that a covered clearing agency establish, 

implement, maintain, and enforce 

written policies and procedures 

reasonably designed to effectively 

measure, monitor, and manage the 

liquidity risk that arises in or is borne 

by the covered clearing agency, 

including measuring, monitoring, and 

managing its settlement and funding 

flows on an ongoing and timely basis, 

and its use of intraday liquidity; and 

• Rule 17Ad–22(e)(20) under the 

Exchange Act,23 which requires that a 

covered clearing agency establish, 

implement, maintain, and enforce 

written policies and procedures 

reasonably designed to identify, 

monitor, and manage risks related to 

any link the covered clearing agency 

establishes with one or more other 

clearing agencies, financial market 

utilities, or trading markets. 

IV. Procedure: Request for Written 

Comments 

The Commission requests that 

interested persons provide written 

submissions of their views, data, and 

arguments with respect to the issues 

identified above, as well as any other 

concerns they may have with the 

Proposed Rule Change. In particular, the 

Commission invites the written views of 

interested persons concerning whether 

the Proposed Rule Change is consistent 

with Section 17A(b)(3)(F) 24 and Rules 

17Ad–22(e)(1), (e)(7), and (e)(20) 25 of 

the Exchange Act, or any other 

provision of the Exchange Act, or the 

rules and regulations thereunder. 

Although there do not appear to be any 

issues relevant to approval or 

disapproval that would be facilitated by 

an oral presentation of views, data, and 

arguments, the Commission will 

consider, pursuant to Rule 19b–4(g) 

under the Exchange Act,26 any request 

for an opportunity to make an oral 

presentation.27

The Commission asks that 

commenters address the sufficiency of 

OCC’s statements in support of the 

Proposed Rule Change, which are set 

forth in the Notice of Filing 28 in 

addition to any other comments they 

may wish to submit about the Proposed 

Rule Change. 

Comments may be submitted by any 

of the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

OCC–2023–007 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to file 

number SR–OCC–2023–007. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the Proposed Rule 

Change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

Proposed Rule Change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549 on official 

business days between the hours of 10 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing 

also will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of OCC 

and on OCC’s website at https://

www.theocc.com/CompanyInformation/Documents-and-Archives/ 

By-Laws-and-Rules. 

Do not include personal identifiable 

information in submissions; you should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. We may 

redact in part or withhold entirely from 

publication submitted material that is 

obscene or subject to copyright 

protection. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–OCC–2023–007 and should 

be submitted on or before December 11, 

2023. Rebuttal comments should be 

submitted by December 26, 2023. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.29

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25545 Filed 11–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98933; File No. SRCboeBZX–2023–062] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BZX Exchange, Inc.; Order Instituting 

Proceedings To Determine Whether To 

Approve or Disapprove a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the Initial 

Period After Commencement of 

Trading of a Series of ETF Shares on 

the Exchange as It Relates to the 

Holders of Record and/or Beneficial 

Holders, as Provided in Exchange Rule 

14.11(l) 

November 14, 2023. 

On August 14, 2023, Cboe BZX 

Exchange, Inc. (‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant 

to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’ or 

‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to 

amend the initial period after 

commencement of trading of a series of 

ETF Shares on the Exchange as it 

specifically relates to holders of record 

and/or beneficial holders under BZX 

Rule 14.11(l). The proposed rule change 

was published for comment in the 

Federal Register on September 1, 2023.3

On September 25, 2023, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,4 the 

Commission designated a longer period 

within which to approve the proposed 

rule change, disapprove the proposed 

rule change, or institute proceedings to 

determine whether to disapprove the 

proposed rule change.5 This order 

institutes proceedings under Section 

19(b)(2)(B) of the Act 6 to determine 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1